The Summoner Necromancer is a completey independent character thatdoes well soloing or in parties. He is intended for PvM and willdo well in softcore or harcore.You might of heard of him being called Summonmancer, Skellomancer,Skelliemancer, Revivomancer, Overlord, Magomancer, or the namethat I came up with, SkellyBomber.Of course there are many other names used as well, too many to mention here.As it can be seen, there are many variations of the Summoner Necro.Most variations use the Skelletons for the main attack, but theMagomancer would use mages instead, and of course the Revivomancerwould use Revives instead.Secondary attacks would then be from possibly Bone Spear/Spirit, Poison Nova, or Corpse Explosion(CE). My SkellyBomber using Skellies as the main attack and CE as hissecondary.This guide is intended to help build a Summoner Necro which will haveno problems going through the game at all difficulty levels.Th build will allow the Necro to finsish the game and kill HellBaal at the end. It is an Optimal Strategy Guide for a summoner necroand will allow for different variations. But I will try to stick with the variation that works the best, by maximizing the skills being used with the least amount of skill points.

Stat SummaryStrength:Just like all other characters and builds, the amount to put intostrength depends on equipment. For the Summoner Necro this willprobably come down to choice of armor. So depending on what youfind or trade for will depend on how much strength.

Energy:Although some people insist that base is enough, it dependson equipment and your style of game play. I would suggest amedium range for energy to be more appropriate. Raising anarmy and casting curses everywhere will drain most of yourenergy.

=================================================================6. Hireling=================================================================The ACT2 NM MIGHT MERC is the best for the summoning build for two specific reasons. The first reason is the might merc will be ableto produce corpses quicker when the Necro is trying to build aninitial army in Hell. The second reason is the This merc almost doubles the damage of the Skellies and melee revives as well,making a very powerful army.Although other mercs can be used, a merc that benefits the armyand speeds in killing enemies makes the most sense.For example a prayer merc could be used, but this only helpskeep the army alive. The Necro hase a curse thatalso does this (Life Tap). And since the skell warriors don'tdie very often the is no point in using this merc.Sometimes the best defense is offense. If the enemies are killedtwice as fast, then the damage they do should only be half as much.Let's look at another example. Let's say the next best choice isthe Thorns Merc. Ok. So the Necros army has to take hits from melee monsters in order to aid in killing them. This will speedup the killings just like the Might Merc does, but only againstsome of the enemies. And it won't help your merc in getting the initial corspes in Hell Difficulty when he can't produce enoughdamage for the initial corpse.So basically when we look at the mercs and how they help the Summoning Necro, the Might Merc overall helps the most byalmost doubling all the physical damage output of the NecrosArmy. It will also help other Party Members and their Hirelingsand Summonings as well, by doubling their physical damage.No other merc comes close to doing this!

=================================================================7.STRATEGY=================================================================The Summoner needs corpses to revive skellies.In Hell this can be a problem at times so the easiest place I findis cold plains way point. Use merc and clay Golem and decreptify to get the first corpses then raise Skelleton Warriors.Once they are all raised then raise all the mages.Finally raise revives as needed and use CE once your army is complete.Use attract on the back rows of mobs and decreptify on the front lines.Decreptify also works on physical immunes. Sometimes Lower Resist can be used on the physical immunes. Just watch the life bar of themonster and try both and see which one brings down the life the fastest.The best curses to use are decreptify, attract, and life tap.If skells or mercs are taking too much damage use life tapfor a few seconds and then switch back to decreptify.If your army breaks up then use a tp, go to town and quickly return.Your whole army will be gathered all in one spot.This is good to do in order to keep the revives from dissapearing orif your merc or skellies get trapped behind a wall.Using this strategy, you should be able to kill Hell Baal Solo at around lev 80 if your +skills to summoning is 10 or higher.

=================================================================8.Equipment=================================================================Don't need anything too fancy.Just +skills and +summoning gear.Can be hard to find at times so try trading or gambling.

Skeleton Mastery: Needed to make skeletons, mages, and revivesstronger. Adds life and damage. Max this skill out second.

Amplify Damage (Amp): Used to increase physical damage dealtby all melee characters (including party members and mercs)by 100%. Only 1 pt needed here. A few more are optional.

Clay Golem: Used as a meat shield and slows down enemies.This is the best golem in 1.10 and only 1 pt is needed.

Golem Mastery: Used to increase golem speed and life. Only 1pt is needed but a few extra pts are optional. When deciding betweenextra pts into Clay or GM, put them in GM.

=================================================================10. Hotkey Recommendations=================================================================For all those that ask which Hotkeys people are using,I will let you know which ones I use. Maybe some people canadd to the end of this thread and add there's to it so wecan have a vote and/or debate on which one are best.

=================================================================11.FAQ=================================================================Q1) Is Clay Golem better than Fire Golems?A1) After using a clay golem for a while now, I would have to saythat fire golem is good and clay is better. Clay golem with +10 to summoning skills slows enemies by 59% and has more life than fire golem.Although fire golem will do more damage than clay, in hell it becomes obsolete. In NM Fire Golem will be able to damage/kill monsters with high +skills to summoning, but it is still very slow compared to merc,skellies, mages, and even revives.To sum up it, golems in 1.10 make excellent meat shields, and therefore clayis the best since this meat shield has the most life and slows all enemiesincluding bosses.

Q2) Are revives really necessary for this build?A2) Although they do have their uses, generally revives just suckup alot of mana and then dissappear. They can kill and with carefullselection the can produce alot of damage. But whether they are neededis a debate. With +10 skills the summoner will have 12 skellies and12 mages to do most of the killing. 3 skill pts can be saved by NOTputting points into blood golem, iron golem, , and revive.You will hear other people say that they cause too much lag.Another pt can be save by not getting fire golem.Seems to me that 3 additional skill pts for +10 revives is a goodtrade off.

Q3) Why 100 into energy? Isn't base enough?A3) No base isn't enough mana. I find 100 pts intoenergy good because I need to raise skellis, mages, and revives quicklywhile casting curses. Just 10 skellies is over 300 mana and 10 revivesis another 450. Now factor in the curses and I don't see how someone can get by with only 300 mana pts. You would have to raise 1/4 of your army,then hit a mana potion and wait until it fills, then raise the next other 1/4 and take another mana, and wait until it fills, then hit another mana potion,ETC....By the time you done raises your army you might have to go back to town for more mana potions.

Q4) Does amp damage lower the resistance of physical immunes?A4) Yes, by 100%.

Q5) Is it a good idea to make a hybred and put points into bonespear/poison nova,instead of using mages.A5) Some people claim to have success with these builds. Not a bad idea to try one.

Q6) Is it better to put points into dim vision instead of maxing CE?A6) Actually, it might be better to go 10-15 dim vision and max CE,and only 1 pt into mages.

Q7) Is staff of teleport a good idea?A7) Yes, put it on as a secondary weapon. When in danger use it to escapequickly, or use it to gather your minions all in one spot, or use itto speed up the game. Can be costly to recharge.

=================================================================12. Final Blow=================================================================Well this guide finally made it to the web!That's not what I intentionally wanted to do but it got to largefor the forums. Lots of stuff added: FAQs, HOTKEYS, expandedon other sections, and fixed typos, etc.

Pease help make this guide BETTER!!!

Post other FAQs and Tips by adding to this thread!

Thanks for taking the time to read this guide,until the v1.06 comes out,